At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the results of the talks between the two Foreign Ministers, the meeting with Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, as well as the Vietnam-Slovenia Business Forum held in Ho Chi Minh City; affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen multi-faceted cooperation with Slovenia, a traditional friend and partner of Vietnam in Central Eastern Europe.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Tanja Fajon expressed her impression of Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements, and affirmed that Slovenia wishes to further promote the traditional friendly and cooperative relationship with Vietnam, one of Slovenia's leading important partners in the region.
Discussing bilateral relations, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his satisfaction with the positive developments in bilateral relations in recent times; suggested that the two sides increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, as well as between ministries, sectors and localities of the two countries, especially in 2024 when the two countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations.
Regarding economic and trade cooperation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his delight that over the past year, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic and trade cooperation between the two countries continued to maintain positive growth momentum, with two-way trade turnover in 2022 reaching a record of more than 570 million USD, up 15% compared to 2021. The Prime Minister asked Slovenia to create more favorable conditions for Vietnam's key products such as electronics, textiles, agriculture and fisheries to access the Slovenian and EU markets. On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked Slovenia to soon ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); and urged the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood products.
Expressing agreement with the assessments and opinions of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Tanja Fajon affirmed that with the foundation of good traditional friendship, Slovenia wishes to deepen relations with Vietnam in all fields; emphasizing that the Slovenian Government highly appreciates the advantages in terms of market, human resources and business and investment environment in Vietnam, as well as the fact that both countries are countries that support free trade. For this reason, the Slovenian business community is very interested and wishes to cooperate effectively and substantially with Vietnamese partners, as demonstrated by the fact that many leading Slovenian enterprises have come to Vietnam on this occasion to seek cooperation and investment opportunities.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Tanja Fajon agreed that the two countries need to strengthen cooperation at multilateral and regional forums, and jointly deal with global challenges such as climate change, energy crisis, and food crisis. Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides emphasized the importance of ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea as well as resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the Slovenian Government to continue supporting and creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live and work, thereby making practical and effective contributions to the good traditional friendship between Vietnam and Slovenia.
*On the same day, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Tanja Fajon held talks.
At the talks, the two sides had a comprehensive discussion on the socio-economic situation of each country and bilateral cooperation. In terms of politics and diplomacy, the two sides agreed to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level delegations in 2024 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, through State, Government, National Assembly and people-to-people channels; closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums and international organizations, including the United Nations, ASEM, and the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework. The two Ministers highly appreciated the signing of the Cooperation Agreement between the two Foreign Ministries on this occasion, creating a legal foundation to promote cooperation between the two Ministries in the coming time, contributing to enhancing understanding and political trust between the two countries.
Regarding economy and trade, the two Ministers noted that, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic cooperation between the two countries has continued to maintain positive growth momentum, with two-way trade turnover in 2022 reaching a record of over 570 million USD, up 15% compared to 2021. Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son suggested that the two sides coordinate closely to maximize the opportunities brought by the EVFTA; encourage Slovenia to increase investment in areas that Vietnam has demand for and Slovenia has strengths in, such as maritime transport, logistics, water and waste management, etc. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Tanja Fajon affirmed that Slovenia will soon ratify the EVIPA Agreement, urge the EC to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood products; coordinate to prepare for the successful organization of the 3rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation in October 2023 in Slovenia.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of Slovenia Tanja Fajon assessed Vietnam as a dynamically developing economy in Southeast Asia and one of Slovenia's potential markets in the region; expressed her wish that the two sides promote cooperation in the fields of green technology, renewable energy, environmental protection, seaports, logistics, etc.; said that the Slovenian Parliament is in the process of ratifying the EVIPA Agreement and affirmed its support for the EC to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood.
The two Foreign Ministers also agreed to coordinate in organizing cultural and artistic activities and people-to-people exchanges to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2024. The two sides also discussed promoting and expanding cooperation in new areas such as education - training, culture - tourism...
After the talks, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of Slovenia Tanja Fajon signed a Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of Slovenia.
PHUC BINH
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